Japandi living room with a low linen sofa and daybed facing floor-to-ceiling black-framed sliding glass doors that open onto a moss and stone Japanese courtyard garden, with a sculpted pine and maple trees in dappled sunlight. A tall walnut bookcase with ceramics, sculptural objects, and stacked books stands on the left beside a glowing paper floor lamp, and an oversized pleated pendant lamp hangs from the ceiling against a warm plaster wall.
/ Blog / By:

Style Decoded Pt.1: Japandi

       Japandi is everywhere right now, and most articles about it show you a perfect, expensive room and leave you to figure out the rest. 

That’s the starting point for Style Decoded. I break down one interior style at a time: where it came from, what defines it, and how to use it in a space you actually live in, without assuming you’ll buy everything new. 

First up: Japandi, the calm, simple look you keep seeing everywhere.

img 3321
Szantea Studios
img 3325
Szantea Studios

Japandi's Origin Story: Two Cultures, One Calm Home

       Japandi feels new, but its story goes back over 150 years. When Japan opened its borders in the mid-1850s, after more than 200 years of restricted contact, Scandinavian artists and designers started visiting and were impressed by Japanese craftsmanship. 

According to some accounts, a Danish naval lieutenant named William Carstensen helped spark that interest in the 1860s, when he traveled to Tokyo and wrote a book about it that got attention in Copenhagen’s art and design circles.

The exchange continued through the 20th century, as both traditions gained global recognition for simplicity, function, and a connection to nature. The two cultures shared a lot: a love of natural materials, fine craftsmanship, and simple, uncluttered living spaces.

The name itself is much newer. “Japandi” blends “Japan” and “Scandi,” and it only started catching on around 2016–2017.

Japandi entryway with a backlit shoji screen glowing warm behind a dark ceramic vase of bare, budding branches on a floating wood bench. A slim floating shelf holds a dark bowl on the textured plaster wall to the right, beside three driftwood branches mounted as coat hooks. Slate floor tiles sit below, and an open sliding door on the left looks out to a green garden.
Szantea Studios
Minimalist Japanese tea room with tatami mat flooring, white walls, and a low walnut table set with a tray of small tea cups beside a slatted-back floor chair. A conical paper pendant lamp hangs from the ceiling, and a long floating wood shelf along the left wall holds a bowl of lit candles, stacked paper, and a sculptural driftwood piece beneath a hanging calligraphy scroll.
Szantea Studios
img 3322
Szantea Studios

What Makes a Room Japandi?

       Now that we know the history, here are all the characteristics so you can recognize Japandi in any room.

At its core, Japandi mixes the calm, simple side of Japanese design with the cozy, practical side of Scandinavian design. The first thing you’ll notice is the simplicity. Japanese design follows a “less is more” idea, which just means the space stays uncluttered and everything in it has a reason to be there. It’s less about owning fewer things and more about choosing the ones you actually like.

Moody, minimalist living room with dark timber-paneled walls and a polished concrete floor. A large white ribbed paper pendant lamp hangs in the foreground above a low black leather sofa and a long, weathered wood coffee table holding a single magazine. A gnarled driftwood beam is visible in the upper right corner.
Szantea Studios

Then there’s the color. It’s earthy and muted; think beige, brown, and soft green. Compared to classic Scandinavian rooms, which tend to be brighter and whiter, Japandi usually feels a little darker and warmer.

Japandi style whole-home paint palette of twelve Sherwin-Williams paint swatches on a white linen-textured background, arranged in two rows of six. The colors include soft creams and sandy beiges, sage and olive greens, warm tan, terracotta and clay browns, a muted taupe, and a deep charcoal. The graphic carries the SJA Interiors logo in the lower left corner.
SJA Interiors
Dark Japandi moodboard with a living room photo above a grid of six material swatches. The room shows a low beige linen sectional, a black square coffee table with a ceramic bowl and vase, a jute rug, a black sideboard, and a large abstract black-and-tan artwork on a plaster wall. Bare branches in dark vases and a tall paper floor lamp complete the space. The labeled tiles below read Dark Wood, Linen Texture, Ceramic Decor, Natural Stone, Black Metal, and Warm Neutrals, the last shown as four color swatches from black to light taupe.
Szantea Studios

Materials matter a lot here. You’ll see wood, bamboo, stone, paper, and linen, mostly because they bring warmth into a room and make it feel connected to nature. The furniture is simple, with clean shapes, and it sits low to the ground. The room feels balanced, but it doesn’t have to be perfectly symmetrical, which I find kind of freeing.

Japandi material moodboard laid flat on a warm off-white surface, showing a light oak sample and a dark walnut sample above stacked linen, tweed, and jute fabric swatches in cream, taupe, and natural tan. A speckled cream vase, a shallow ceramic bowl, and a black bowl on a beige plate sit alongside olive leaves. Along the bottom, a travertine stone tile is paired with four paint swatches ranging from soft cream and warm greige to sage green.
Szantea Studios
Flat-lay moodboard of earthy Japandi material samples on a pale plaster surface, streaked with diagonal sunlight and shadow. A woven charcoal linen swatch rests on a weathered oak plank beside a green marble tile with soft veining. A rust-brown ceramic bowl sits on two dark slate slabs, and a rough beige stone slab holds a small white marble square. Below are an olive green panel, a chunky white limestone sample, layered bronze and taupe tiles, and two rustic brick-like stones in terracotta and moss tones.
Szantea Studios

Light is soft. Japandi rooms let in as much daylight as they can, and at night they rely on gentle lamps with paper or fabric shades instead of harsh overhead lights.

Japandi dining nook with a cluster of four glowing paper pendant lamps hung at staggered heights above a light wood table. A woven basket planter holds a slender leafy tree with sprawling branches, and a lidded lacquer dish sits on the table's left side. Upholstered bench seating in soft gray-beige lines the table, and a vertical wood slat screen glows warmly behind the plant.
Szantea Studios
Close-up of a Japandi living room vignette with a glowing woven linen table lamp on a black wooden tripod base, set on a dark wood coffee table beside a black ceramic bowl. In the softly blurred background, a second paper-shade lamp glows on a walnut sideboard next to a shallow dark dish holding twisting bare branches, while a cream sofa with plush white cushions sits to the right.
Szantea Studios

The Scandinavian side is what keeps all of this from feeling cold. It brings in comfortable seating, soft textiles like throws and rugs, and furniture that’s actually practical to live with.

Warm Japandi living room vignette with a rustic dark wood coffee table in the foreground, holding a hammered dark tray with a pillar candle, a speckled stone, and a small vase of berry-tipped twigs. Behind it, a low walnut sideboard displays a tall green-glazed vase of autumn branches, a rough-hewn stone bowl, and a long carved wooden dish beneath a large, weathered neutral canvas. A cream sofa with a chunky brown knit throw, a linen floor cushion, and sheer linen curtains complete the space.
Szantea Studios

And you don’t need the traditional Japanese pieces, like tatami mats, ikebana, or bonsai. They inspire the style, but a single branch in a vase or one small plant gives you the same feeling.

Japandi Rules (and Which Ones You Can Bend)

Do (the rules worth keeping)

Stick to a small color palette. Two or three earthy, muted tones keep the room calm.

Edit before you buy. Remove what doesn’t have a purpose, then see what’s missing.

Add one or two natural materials. Wood, linen, or paper is enough.

Use soft, warm light. A lamp with a paper or fabric shade beats harsh overhead lighting.

Choose quality over quantity. A few pieces you like rather than many you don’t.

Serene Japandi bedroom with a low platform bed in dark walnut, dressed in rumpled olive-green linen bedding, and a woven cane bench at its foot. A monogrammed tan throw is draped across the bed. Tall walnut-framed translucent panels fill the left wall and diffuse soft daylight, and a small black-and-white striped paper lamp sits on a narrow-plank wood floor against a plain white wall.
Szantea Studios

Don't (what works against the style)

Don’t buy everything new. This matches your core message: use what you have and swap small things.

Don’t fill every surface or shelf. Space is part of the look.

Don’t mix in loud colors or busy patterns. Bright primaries, pastels, and cool grays clash with the earthy palette.

Don’t aim for perfection. Japandi has room for a worn chair or a handmade, slightly uneven bowl.

Japandi bathroom tucked under a sloped plaster ceiling, with a deep rectangular walnut soaking tub and a wall-mounted brushed brass faucet. A chunky knit towel drapes over the tub's edge, and a small black-framed window looks out to tall evergreen trees. A round dark wood stool sits on irregular slate flagstone flooring, and a leafy branch in a vase stands in the corner against the warm, textured walls.
Szantea Studios

Which rules you can bend

Low furniture: If you rent or share a dorm, you don’t need to replace your bed or sofa. Low tables, stools, or floor cushions give the same feeling.

Natural materials: Good-looking fakes or secondhand pieces are fine.

Color: A dark or bold accent is fine if it’s muted, like deep green or rust.

Minimalism: You can keep sentimental items if you display them intentionally.

Minimalist living room with board-formed concrete walls and a cream sofa topped with a shearling cushion. A rounded black stone coffee table holds a rough-hewn bowl, and a walnut lounge chair with a woven cane back and seat sits on a textured jute rug. Along the wall, a floating concrete ledge displays cream and clay vases, a dried branch arrangement, a woven panel, and small wooden sculptures, beneath a large framed abstract canvas in soft sand tones.
Szantea Studios

Japandi in Real Life

       You don’t need a full makeover to try Japandi. Here are three small changes you can make this weekend.

In your bedroom, swap your bedding for oat or charcoal linen or cotton. Put a lamp with a warm bulb (look for 2700K on the box) on the nightstand and keep only three things on it: the lamp, a book, and a small dish for jewelry or a hair tie.

For your desk area, clear everything off, then put back only your laptop, a notebook, and a pen. Keep the rest of your pens in a wooden tray or ceramic cup, and add one small plant, like a pothos or a snake plant.

Lastly, to incorporate it into your living room, take everything off the coffee table except one wooden tray holding a candle or a small vase with a single branch. Fold a neutral throw over the arm of the sofa, and swap one pillow cover for a muted linen one in mushroom or beige.

Minimalist Japandi dining room with a long, dark-stained oak table with a slim center seam, surrounded by walnut chairs with woven cane seats and backs. Three slender brass pendant lights hang from a wood-slatted ceiling above a single dark ceramic bowl. In the background, a travertine backsplash and countertop with a modern faucet sit above dark wood cabinetry, against smooth plaster walls and a pale concrete floor.
Szantea Studios

If this sparked your interest in Japandi, start with one change and see how it feels. Japandi isn’t a rulebook. Take what you like, leave the rest, and make it your own. Your room doesn’t need to look perfect; it just needs to work for you and your lifestyle.

HAVE A QUESTION?

Not sure which option is right for your home? Feel free to reach out. I’m always happy to answer your questions, offer advice, or point you in the right direction.

If there’s a topic you’d like me to cover in a future article, I’d love to hear your suggestions too.

GET IN TOUCH

Or get in touch through the Contact page on Szantea Studios.

Thank you for supporting Szantea Studios.

 

Every product featured in this guide has been carefully researched and selected because I genuinely believe in its quality. Your support helps me continue creating free interior design guides, honest advice, and inspiration.

 

If there’s a topic you’d like me to cover in a future article, I’d love to hear your suggestions too.

Discover more from Szantéa Studios

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading